People or brands will probably always find ways to take advantage of Facebook’s algorithms in order to be more visible in people’s timelines. As most of us now, the more likes, shares, and comments that you get, However, some users have been complaining that their feed is filled with these “engagement bait” posts which ask people to comment one word things or to like the post if they agree, just to be able to game the algorithm. Facebook is now taking action by demoting posts like these, both from individuals and pages.
Basically, what the social media giant will do is to review and categorize hundreds of thousands of posts and categorize them as engagement bait or just regular posts. This will teach the machine learning model to distinguish one from the other and eventually detect those that are just abusing the algorithm that Facebook has set in order to reward those that get engagement. And those that are found to be using this annoying tactic will be shown less in News Feeds.
As for Pages that use this as well, there will be stricter demotions for those that engage in this kind of practice to artificially gain reach, rather than go through the more authentic engagement process. But they will give Pages a little more time to adjust as the demotion will roll out over the next few weeks. Pages will have to learn how not to use engagement bait-like words and phrases to avoid getting flagged.
But if you ask for help, recommendations, raise money for a cause, ask for travel tips, etc, your posts will not be affected as Facebook considers this genuine engagement seeking questions. As for Pages, they are encouraged to “focus on posting relevant and meaningful stories.”
SOURCE: Facebook
